Support to the East African Integration Process

Regional integration is a major development strategy for the countries of Africa, which all share the aim of continent-wide economic, social and cultural integration by 2028. An important aspect of this is trade liberalisation. This is to be achieved through regional free trade areas, progressing towards customs union, a common market and ultimately monetary union. The East African Community (EAC) is one of eight regional economic communities recognised by the African Union (AU), and the only one that has a vision of political federation. In the treaty establishing the EAC, the partner states decided to expand and intensify their economic, political, social and cultural integration. Since 1998, German development cooperation, through its programme ‘Support to the EAC Integration Process’, has made substantial contributions to the integration process in East Africa, in accordance with the German Government’s Africa Strategy.

As the implementing agency, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been assigned to provide support to the EAC Secretariat in three areas that were identified as posing the main challenges in the integration process:

Steering of the EAC integration process by the EAC Secretariat

Implementation of the core areas of the Common Market

Taking systematic account of the interests of non-governmental actors in the EAC integration process

The programme is scheduled to last three years, from March 2013 to February 2016.

In addition, the National Metrology Institute of Germany (PTB) supports the EAC in developing a quality infrastructure for the pharmaceutical sector.

BROAD-BASED EXPERIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The services delivered by GIZ draw from a wealth of regional and technical expertise and tried and tested management know-how. As a federal enterprise, we support the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable…Read more

THE PARTNERSHIP FUND

The Partnership Fund (PF) was established in 2006 as a basket pool to enhance donor coordination in support of the EAC Secretariat. The mission of the Partnership Fund is twofold.Read more